Aqua Maidens
by Immortal
Summary: A story where Ranma is about to confess his love for Akane, but she dies. That's not the end though, it's only the begining
1. Goodbye Akane

Aqua Maidens

Aqua Maidens

By Artemis

Chapter 1: Goodbye Akane

Disclaimer: I don't own some of these characters. Rumiko Takahashi does. Yadee, yadee Yah Da. Geez I'm gonna start sounding like a broken record.

Author's Note: Okay, the first chapter might not make any sense, but once you read the second chapter, it will fit the title, hopefully.

~~~~

"…And Akane Tendo, do you take Ranma Saotome, to be your lawfully wedded husband through sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do."

"With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." The minister announced. And as they were told, Ranma and Akane, kissed. 

After the party, they got into a limousine. Gazing at her wedding ring, Akane sighed. The limo turned a sharp corner. It rolled and was in flames.

Akane sprung up from her bed. She had been having this same dream over every night. She looked at her alarm clock. 2:19am. 'Geez! I'm going back to sleep' she thought.

~~~~

In the morning, after every one else had left to do airens, Akane helped Kasumi with the breakfast dishes.

"I had that dream again."

"That's the fourth time this week." Kasumi sighed.

"It's just so strange."

"Don't worry about it, it won't happen."

"I know," Akane said.

~~~~

Meanwhile

"I'm here to pick up a ring." Ranma said to the salesclerk at the jewelers.

"Name, please."

"Ranma Saotome."

"Yes, it's ready," the clerk went into a back room. Ranma stood there nervously. Flipping the checkbook he brought to pay for the ring. 

'I can't believe I'm doing this. Good thing she didn't decide to tag along.' 

"Here it is." The clerk said showing Ranma the ring. "The engraving is right. 'Forever Love'?" The letters were big and loopy, with lots of coils.

"Yes, it's right." Ranma said as he scribbled a check. Ripped the check out and handed it to the clerk. Ranma snapped the ring box shut, and put it into his pocket.

~~~~

The next day…

"Okay, everything's ready. Ring, the boat's booked. Um. Kasumi made a lunch." Ranma said softly to himself as he packed his bag. He closed the door as quietly as he could. "Damn, I need my own transportation."

He walked over to the Cat Café. It was early in the morning, but Shampoo was up. "I need to borrow your bike for the day." 

"Okay, Ranma." She kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll bring it back tonight. I promise." He called back as he rode off into the rising sun.

~~~~

An hour later, Kasumi woke Akane up. They walked out to the Ranma had rented for the day. Kasumi started driving at the maximum speed limit. Then stopped by Starbucks drive-thru for a coffee. Kasumi looked at the passenger seat, where Akane slept. Then she focused on the road and sipped her coffee.

Finally, they got to the ocean. Ranma was there waiting for them. He had just gotten out of the boat rental shop, with a Styrofoam cup of coffee. "Sixth cup." He yawned, as he walked out to the rental car. "The guy's gonna start charging me."

"Do you want to wake her?" Kasumi said opening Akane's door.

"No, you."

Kasumi ducked into the car and gently shook Akane. Ranma walked out to the boat.

"Hmmm? Where are we?" Akane said sleepily.

"Uh, on a trip."

"okay," she said, not really caring. Kasumi walked her over to the boat that was tied up at the dock. "Hi Ranma. What are you doing here?" She rubbed her eyes.

"I'll tell you later. Just get in the boat." 

Kasumi helped the sleepy Akane into the rowboat then headed back to the car. "Bye! Pick you up, say around 4:00?"

Ranma pushed the row boat off the land then hopped in. Akane, now fully awake, looked around. "Why are we here?"

"Uh, well, I wanted to tell you something." He said as he dug into his bag, looking for the ring. A bigger, self-powered boat came along. The boat accidentally tipped Ranma's little rowboat. Akane and Ranma fell out. Akane was breathless. She hit her head on the boat and was knocked unconscious. She fell to the depths of the ocean.

Ranma franticly looked for her. But he couldn't find her. Half an hour had passed, and he knew she was dead.


	2. Meet Sakana

Aqua Maidens

Aqua Maidens

Chapter 2: Meet Sakana

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranma gang. I just wrote the fic. The mermaid's are mine. Not yours. MINE. Got that? 

Author's note: sorry this is so late. I was done half of it then I went on holidays for a month and forgot to bring my disc with me. When I came back, I couldn't find the disk. So, sorry for the delay.

~~~~

Akane hit the ocean floor. Yep she was dead.

~~~~

When she woke up, she was lying on a table with about a dozen women standing around her. Half of them had strange color hair, like green, gold, pink and blue. The other half had blond, brown or black hair. They all had the same purplish tint to their skin. 

"Sakana, she's awake!" A silver haired maiden said.

A young woman came over. She had seaweed green hair that was in a loose ponytail. The hair that couldn't reach the scrunchie, had a piece seaweed wrapped around it, one on either side, level with her eye, and another level with her earlobe. "Drink this." She said as she handed Akane a glass. Akane drank the purple liquid then threw up over the edge of the table. That is when she noticed that the room was half filled with water. And the women, they had long fishlike tails. They were mermaids.

~~~~

When all of the other mermaids had departed, Sakana sat down next to Akane.

"Where am I?" Akane asked.

"You're in the ocean." 

"I want to go back to Japan."

"You can't. You're dead."

"What do you mean."

"You drowned. If you go back on land, you'll be dead. I'm giving you another chance to live."

"What do I have to do?"

"I'll tell you later. But first, get some rest." Sakana smiled sweetly and left the room.

~~~~

Akane woke up; she looked around, remembering where she was. Sakana came in with two bowls of soup.

"How are you feeling? I brought you some lunch."

She sat down in a chair and handed one of the bowls to Akane. 

After they were finished, Sakana took Akane into the hall. 

It was also filled up to Akane's waist. "This is the only wing that has air in it. All the other's are totally filled with water." They passed a door. "This is the castle's nurse. If something happens while you're here, you go to her." Sakana told Akane.

"What do you mean by castle?"

"You are in my castle. I'm the leader of this mertribe. Everybody lives in here. We all get fed by the cook. Seniors first, of coarse."

"How do you get the water to stay at this level?"

"Magic. A spell was put on this wing so only this amount of water can be in it. No more. No less." They stopped at a door and Sakana pulled out a set of keys, picked out the right one and opened the door. Inside were rows and rows of clothes. A petite woman stepped out from behind a rack.

"Another one, eh, Sakana?" She moved her white hair out of her face.

"Yes. Can you get her ready? The full moon's tonight." She turned to Akane. "I have to go, I'll be back soon."

Akane really didn't want her to go. But she agreed. The mermaid, whose name was Minik, started measuring Akane. Then she flipped through racks of clothes, and found the right size. She handed it to Akane, and told her to go into the dressing room and try it on. The outfit was a green skirt made entirely out of scales, and a tube top made out of seaweed that was woven together. 

"It doesn't fit just right." Minik said

"No, it's okay."

"If you're going to wear it for all eternity, then we'll have to fix it." She pulled out a thin silver stick and said a few words. And the skirt changed its shape to match Akane's form perfectly. 

"Can all mermaids do that?"

"No. Only some of the older ones and the royalty."

"You mean Sakana can do magic?"

"Yes, but she doesn't like to talk about it with new ones."

~~~~~

That night, Sakana led Akane outside the castle, into a courtyard. In the courtyard there was a stone table. Sakana instructed Akane to lay on it. She sprinkled an herb over her; and Akane fell asleep. Mermaids gathered all around. They started chanting. Sakana's eyes rolled back and she started moaning. In a different voice, she hissed, "She is worthy. Let her change." Sakana fainted. She was limp on the ground. The mermaids' chant sped up. The moonlight shone through the water. Akane floated up. The water spun around her. Her skirt grew tighter, and sprung a fish's tail fin. Her skin changed into scales. She grew gills. Akane woke up. She let go her last breath of air. And she started to breathe with her gills. She gasped when she saw Sakana lying on the ground. She carried Sakana inside the castle, one woman showed her to Sakana's room. There, Akane laid her on the bed. Sakana woke shortly after. 

"Geez. Good thing I don't do this all the time." 

She took Akane on a tour of the castle. "Are you any good at cooking?"

Akane thought about every time Ranma made a big deal out of her cooking. "Not really."

"What do you like to do?"

Akane told Sakana about how her father owned the dojo. Sakana brought her outside and showed her the small group of fighters.

"Every other full moon; we have a small fight against another group."

"Why aren't there any guys here?"

"We don't take in the males. We feed them to the giant squid. An offering as a deal for him not to attack us. Anyway if we did take them in, our name, Aqua Maidens, wouldn't make any sense 

~~~~~

Well that's the end of the chapter. It's cut abit short, but the rest will be in the next, and last chapter!


	3. Saving Ranma

Aqua Maidens

Aqua Maidens

By Artemis

Chapter3: Saving Ranma

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns the Ranma ½ characters. Not me.

~~~~~~~~~~

After a hard day of training in the Fight Tent, Akane swam to the kitchen. She had been an Aqua Maiden for two weeks now. She had to get used to using a tail instead of legs. It was harder to train than above water, but she never missed a day in the Fight Tent.

"I'm going to go see Sannanna, today." Kim said. She had been a mermaid for five years now.

"Who's Sannanna?" Akane asked.

"She's an merelder. She's the oldest and wisest of all Maidens."

"And she's psychic." Jax added. She was a pure Maiden (meaning she was born a mermaid). Her bright blue hair was in pigtails. She knew a lot about the Tribe. 

"She can tell you exactly how you died and everything." Kim said.

"Hi." Sakana said. She brought her tray over and sat next to Akane. It had been awhile since she had last eaten lunch with them. She had been away, discussing business with another tribe. Akane asked her about Sannanna. "Yes, it's all true. You can visit her whenever you want."

Akane decided that after lunch she would visit the elder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Come in, child." The merelder said. "Sit down." The woman looked into her crystal ball, a fuzzy image appeared. "I see a man at a ring shop. He has dark hair in a braid. He is picking up something. There you and him are in a rowboat; he looks nervous. He wants to tell you something. Do you know what it is, child?"

"I have no clue." She said. 

Sannanna stared deeply into the crystal. "He wants you to know that he loves you." Akane was stunned. It wasn't like Ranma.

~~~~~~~~~~~

For the next month, Akane thought really hard about what the psychic. 'He loved me?' She fell back onto her bed. The journal she was given was practically full of the thoughts about Ranma. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Miss," a very young girl said, "there is a meeting in the Hall. You should hurry."

"Thanks." Akane said, and the girl swam off, knocking on the next door. "I wonder what the meeting is about."

When she got there, the room was very crowded, and there was still people coming in. Akane swam to the closest chair to the front. After everyone had settled, Sakana made an announcement. 

"Good evening fellow maidens! I have just been informed that the special Land Visit ceremony will be next week. For those who don't know what the Land Visit is, one person will be chosen from the gods, to go back to land for two days and visit their loved ones. If you stay longer than two days, you will shrivel up and die. Once you touch the ocean during your stay, you turn straight back to a mermaid. Even if your days aren't up yet. You may not tell the humans about us. If you do, you will be banished from the tribe. Please come to the courtyard next week. If you have any questions, please ask me." 

~~~~~~~~

Akane thought about it for the next week. When the day finally arrived, she felt a little worried. If she were picked, how would she explain it to Ranma? He thinks she was dead. She walked out to the courtyard. Everybody was there. They made a huge circle. They chanted a few words then were silent. Akane felt warm, she looked at her body and found she was glowing. 

"Step forward, Akane." Sakana said. Akane stepped into the middle of the circle, and she glowed brighter. The light shone so bright it was hard to look at her. She transformed back into a human. She swam as fast as she could to the top of the water. Her clothes were what they were like befor she turned into a mermaid. 

~~~~~~~~

Finally, she reached the top. She took a big breath of air. A sailor called out. He had noticed her. The man directed the boat over to Akane. Two men pulled her in. They handed her a towel. Akane swore that she could see a green haired woman in the water. The men assured her that there was no one.

~~~~~~~

In the morning, the boat reached the dock. When the men weren't watching her, Akane slipped off. She ran until she could see the dojo. She almost opened the door and yelled "I'm home!!" But she caught herself. And decided to just look in through the window. It was the normal morning at the Tendo's. Akane hid in the bushes when Ranma and Nabiki left for school.

Akane silently followed them.

"Akane?" a familiar voice said.

"Oh Mousse! Put your glasses on!" Akane turned around to find Shampoo hitting Mousse on the head with the newspaper. Mousse was bent over a small statue. That's when Akane decided to run.

~~~~~~~~~

Akane watched Ranma in gym class. They were having a baseball game outside. After Ranma hit a home run, he looked in the direction of Akane. He shook the image out of his head, and looked again. She was gone.

Akane ran down the street. She saw some money on the road. Akane picked it up it was 1500 yen. It was right outside a cookie shop. Akane picked up a dozen and got them wrapped up.

"What do you want on the card?" The man asked.

"To Ranma. I'll always love you. Akane." Akane answered. 

"Say, you look a lot like the Tendo girl who drowned at sea, two months ago."

"Um yeah. I get that a lot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Akane squeezed through the window in her room that night. She saw Ranma sleeping in her bed. The room was totally changed. All her stuff was gone, and Ranma's things were in their place. Akane put the cookies on the night table. "Akane?" Ranma just barely woke up.

"Yes, it's me." She gently kissed his lips. "And I'll always love you forever." Ranma fell back asleep. Akane crawled through the window again and left. She ran back to the ocean and jumped in. Even though her two days weren't up yet, she had to go back. It broke her heart to see Ranma again.

~~~~~~~~~

One year later

~~~~~~~~~

"Ranma! Wake up!" Nabiki said as she poured cold water on Ranma.

"Brr! That's freezing!" the red haired girl said.

"Well, you better get up if you want to go scuba diving." After Nabiki left the room, Ranma got up and put on a bathing suit, then his clothes. She grabbed a piece of toast, and her gear, then ran out the door. Nabiki greeted her in the bus that was taking them to the ocean.

"Hi sleepy head." Ranma just stared out the window, ignoring her fiancée. She pulled out a cloth bag from her pocket, and opened it up. She pulled out a cookie. "You still have those? You know it was just some kid playing a trick on you." Ranma just shrugged her shoulders and ate the cookie. Soon she got tired and fell asleep. 

She woke up when they arrived at the ocean. She got out her gear, and got it on. Nabiki and her hopped on the boat that would take them to the sea. Once on, the instructor told them the rules, and gave them each a camera that they could use. One by one, each team member jumped into the water. It was early, and the water was cold.

After swimming for a few minutes, the water felt warmer. Ranma took a couple of pictures of fish, then moved on. When she was taking some pictures of a coral wreath, she had a feeling something was following her. She turned around and saw a shark heading straight for her. Ranma swam as fast as she could, but the shark was faster. Ranma turned to face the shark, she noticed that it was only about a meter away from her face. She screamed, and accidentally backed up into some coral. It cut a tube connecting her oxygen tank. The air poured out and Ranma started to panic even more.

Ranma thought the shark was going to bite her face off, but instead it stopped, dropped limply to the bottom of the ocean. Behind it was a mermaid caring a bloody harpoon. Ranma swore that it was Akane. The mermaid grabbed Ranma and pulled her through the water. 

They entered a palace. The mermaid ripped off Ranma's oxygen tank. They were in a room half filled with water. The mermaid got Ranma on a table. Another mermaid found wounds on Ranma's back. She cleaned them up with a liquid.

"OWWWW!!!!!!!! THAT STINGS!" The red hair girl yelled. 

"We should tell Sakana." One mermaid said.

"Why?" the Akane-like mermaid asked.

"To perform the ceremony."

"We can't."

"Why not?"

"One," the Akane-like mermaid grabbed a kettle, "She's not dead. And two," the Akane-like mermaid poured the water on Ranma.

"Oh my god!" the mermaid gasped at the man on the table. "Akane! I didn't know that you could do magic!"

"It's not magic." And she explained about the curse.

"Akane?"

"Yes, Ranma?"

"Aren't you dead? I mean the last time I saw you, you were human."

"Oh Ranma!" Akane hugged him tightly. Then let him go and wiped a tear away from her eye. "I missed you so much!" She told him about the past year.

"Akane are you in there?" Sakana stepped into the room. She saw Ranma. "Oh, who's this?"

"I'm Ranma Saotome."

"He is, er, was, my fiancé."

"Where did you find him? Because you know the rules."

"He's not dead. He was alive when I found him."

"Hold on for one minute." Sakana said as she left the room. She came back with a silver shell. Inside was a fine white powder with gold and silver specks in it. "Stand still Akane." Sakana sprinkled the powder over Akane's head.

"Crushed pearls,"

"Gold and silver."

"If the heart is true,"

"Make this shell quiver."

The shell slightly shook.

"The heart is pure,"

"Please make sure,"

"This spell can't be reversed."

"Let the girl be with her true love."

"And when they die together,"

"Turn them into doves."

"Turn her human,"

"So she can be with her man."

"So mote it be!"

And with a flash, Akane turned back into a young woman. With a long, flowing white dress. Sakana put her index and middle fingers together, and kissed them. Then laid them on Ranma's then Akane's for heads. They left the castle. Instead of holding their breath, they could breathe under water. They swam as fast as they could; fearing the spell of breath underwater would wear off.

When they got to shore, Ranma knelt down on one knee and pulled off the ring on his finger.

"Akane, will you marry me?" he said as he placed the ring on her finger.

"Yes! And a thousand times, yes!" She hugged her fiancée.

"Look at the inscription."

" 'Forever Love'! Oh Ranma!"


End file.
